TransitionInsight

Your Own Site

A Boat

Overview

Here’s the framework behind this site—call it a template for Your Own Site if you like. You write in Markdown—a simple, plain-text format where # makes a heading and * makes italics. No special software is needed; any text editor works. The site builds to lightweight static files you can host anywhere, including free on GitHub Pages, or pin to IPFS so no single server controls it.

You’ll need Node, a code editor, and an hour of patience with a terminal. If that sounds daunting, just point an AI assistant at the repository and let it walk you through every step. You could even just say to your agent:

Here's a GitHub template: https://github.com/patelashit550-cpu/own-site. I want to build my own website with it. Read SETUP.md, then survey me with the questions you need, a few at a time. Build the site from my answers, show me what it looks like, and don't publish anything until I say so.

Why I'm sharing it. Getting a simple site built usually takes days or weeks of back and forth with a designer, or many evenings with a site builder. With this template and an AI assistant, it can take about an hour. I'm giving it away because that saved time is real value, for a writer, a baker, a independent cafe, restaurant or whatever floats your boat.

Why use this template? Hosted platforms like Substack, Medium, Squarespace, or GoDaddy are fine places to start, but they are ultimately limiting. They control what gets seen, prioritizing broad traffic and attention over the formation of the genuine community and meaningful connections needed to come together for a common purpose of your own choosing. Your files stay with you, on your own machine and in your own repository, so no platform can lock you out, sell your attention, or take your work down. Centralized platforms are frequent targets for competitors and other interested parties—which really shouldn't be your concern. An independent site you own gives them far less to aim at, and far less reason to bother.

Plus, leaving those platforms is made deliberately tedious. A site you own relies on no algorithm and has zero vendor lock-in. It gives you full control and a quiet space to build at your own pace while you develop your craft and master the tools. Build it and ship.

Instructions

Click the link and follow the instructions: Own Site.

  1. Click "Use this template" on GitHub, or clone it, then open it in an IDE.
  2. Run npm install, then npm run dev, and confirm the placeholder site is up at localhost:3000.
  3. Put your writing under ontology/ and replace the placeholder posts. Edit brand and copy in src/config/site.ts.
  4. Copy .env.local.example to .env.local. Never commit it.
  5. Run npm run build. It writes a static site to out/, which any static host can serve, including free GitHub Pages. npm run ship (with --push, --mirror or --ipfs) is optional.